


Trap

by red_choseok



Category: UNIQ (Band), UP10TION, X1 (Korea Band)
Genre: Action, Action & Romance, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Violence, Crime Fighting, Heavy Angst, M/M, Spies & Secret Agents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:41:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22113535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/red_choseok/pseuds/red_choseok
Summary: Youn, or popularly known as Agent X$Y in the world of crimes, has three rules in his job:1. Do his job right and leave no trace behind.2. Don't question anything about the task.3. Don't go against his client and forget everything once the job is done.and an additional one:If someone meddles in, kill with no remorse.But he broke them all for the man he loathes the most.
Relationships: Cho Seungyeon | Seungyoun/Kim Wooseok | Wooshin
Comments: 14
Kudos: 30





	1. Red

The cold wind gushes in between the trees giving chills to the people passing the busy street of Seoul. People have their own business, some walk with headphones on, calling someone in front of a store, scrolling their smartphones while waiting for the next bus to arrive and those who bump each other racing to the other side of the road as the streetlight turns green. It was night already which means the mission will start anytime soon.

  
"Argh", a woman grunts as a tall man wearing a black hoodie, a face mask, and a loose pants bumps into her shoulder causing her things to scatter on the street.

"Where are you looking at?!", shouting in front of the man who is now helping her to gather her scattered things. It is evident that the woman had a tiring day today, working for a bank is quite a pain too.

"I'm sorry, I didn't notice you", the man says, giving the last things left to the woman. She can't fully see his face but his eyes are not covered thus she notices his eyes as they turn into crescent shape ones giving her a feeling of guilt for raising her voice to a nice man.

Then each of these people continues their lives just how it should be. 

_Or not?_

The woman should be in peace now that she can finally rest at her apartment. She should enjoy a long relaxing bath after all the work that she did today. She should eat the cold noodles in her refrigerator to calm her empty stomach.

But here she is, tugging her hair in utter shock, eyes, and mouth wide open, slowly falling in the floor, she wasn't able to change in her casual clothes yet but she couldn't mind all of those as the drive disk that contains all of the reports of today's cash transactions and other confidential reports about the bank is nowhere to be found. Maybe it is just one of the many copies of it but it can be used to access the bank's internal system and that's a big problem.

***

A man in a black suit enters the dim office, with a small envelope on his hand. 

"$10,000 as you ask Mr. Chairman", bowing slightly as he shows it to the man he's serving for. The chairman turns his chair and faces the tall black-haired man on the sofa.

"It's quite an easy task and you ask for this amount", it is apparent in his shaky voice that he lives for a long time already in this world. 

The fox-like eyes glare at him, the night light outside the mirrored office flashes his gaze to the old man. Looking at him with a grin on his face as if mocking him.

"If you can't pay my amount, better not call me again Mr. Chairman", he stood up and grab the envelope from the server's hand and raises it in between his fingers as he exits the office.

***

Exclude his work, Seungyoun is a common man that you may bump once in a while in the streets. Amidst being known as a big name in the illegal world, he lives with a low profile. He stays in a not-so-big house (but a luxurious one) enough for him and his Shiba dog - a gift from his deceased parents. The big round creature welcomes him with a wiggling tail, an excited 'arf', and twinkling eyes. Other than his dog, he doesn't have someone whom he can call as a friend. His previous clients invite him to different occasions which he accepts once in a hundred offers. Some of them even ask him if he wanted to marry their daughters promising him that he will be protected from all of the crimes that he did but Seungyoun seemed to have a bigger plan - a plan that no one knows other than himself.

Amidst having a lowlife, he doesn't accept offers to kill people or any sort that will harm other people. He only accepts those who wanted to get or transport things but he'll kill if needed if someone meddles in while doing these tasks. He didn't kill anyone yet... and he hopes that he wouldn't go to that extent. 

One of his burner phone rings, startling the eating dog beside him on the sofa.

"It's been a long time Agent X$Y", a woman's voice that he will not forget - one of his big clients. He stood up from the sofa and went out on his terrace, the beautiful night lights of the buildings of Seoul flashes in front of him. He grabs a cigarette stick and lights it up, this is quite a hobby once he receives a new job and once he finishes his work, something like a drug to calm his anxiety and excitement.

"What should I do?", he simply says as he blows the smoke of the cigarette out of his mouth.

"Go to the usual place tomorrow, 5 in the morning, let's have a deal", the other line says before ending the call. It's just a few minutes away before this day ends.

Just as the woman asks in the phone, Youn went to the usual place - the tunnel below the main road of Seoul which is a place that casual people will not go into unless they're up to something like _this_.

A black car is already waiting there as Youn arrives at the place. The woman inside the car notice his presence and signaled the man in front of the seat to open the door for him. It is still dark at that time and the only source of light that they have is the light inside the car.

"It's nice to meet the best agent again", the woman offers her hand for a handshake with a mysterious wide smile on her face.

"We don't need an introduction, go to the point", Youn said in a bored remark.   
  
The task is simple, go inside a heavily guarded facility, open the vault in one of the rooms inside, look for a chip and copy its contents then bring it back and the task is done.

What to look out for: employees, roaming guards, security cameras, guard dogs, lasers, and hidden traps. 

"So...what's your price Agent X$Y?"

Youn opened the window and lighted a cigarette, "50,000 bucks and provide me the things that I need in this task."

"You're too humble, make it a hundred, just make sure you do it right, your life will be in line if you mess up."

The woman snaps her fingers signaling the man guarding outside to go near the car, she is currently telling something to the man while Youn is just waiting for further instructions.

"Okay, that ends our business here, expect the equipment tomorrow in front of your house. I'm expecting a good result Agent X$Y."

The man opens the door for him. He throws his cigarette in the wet stinky floor of the tunnel and puts the hood of his jacket.  
  
Another task to complete. 

Fake ID, a uniform, a floor plan of the building, a gun, knives, keys, and a laser beam designed like a pen. These are the things that were sent to him, which are more than what he needed to complete this task.

The blinking light of the security cameras can already be seen outside. He pulls down his cap and puts on a face mask. The first, second, and third floors of the building are still accessible for the citizens, it is a governmental place after all. He lines up to the entrance, the security is tight thus it takes a long time for the line to move forward but everything is calculated here - remember Rule #1. He is the next in line. His countdown starts now. 

**_1....2....3...._ **

The electricity was cut. The other people behind the line start complaining since the guards stop checking saying that they are waiting for the generator to turn on but people are impatient and kept shouting. The guards have no choice but to continue the security check without using their machines and that's how Youn easily went inside with just simple bag checking and frisking. He walks straight in the bathroom and the electricity was back, he hurriedly put on the uniform that resembles those who work here and the fake ID.

He easily found the room that he is looking for while doing the bare minimum, it was dark in the hallway therefore there's no need to mind the security cameras. He is currently trying the keys in opening the door and after several tries, the door finally made a clicking sound - the door was unlocked. There is only darkness as he walks inside the room and immediately closes the door behind him. He cannot see anything as he reaches his flashlight in his pocket. Before making a move, he checks everything first, the position of the cameras, possible traps, and lasers. Thankfully only cameras are present which he can handle later on. He hurriedly opens the vault as he carefully listens to every click it produces as he turns the knob, the laser pen will leave a trace if he uses it, in this case, this is the cleanest way to do it. It took him 10 minutes to open the vault, he connected the reader to his phone and waits the box that was flash in his screen to be filled. 

**File Transfer Complete**

The text on the phone says. As he is about to close the vault, he heard the door opens, he ducks down and turned off his flashlight but he knows it's too late. He reaches for his gun expecting the worse even if he is not mentally prepared to hurt someone right now. Footsteps are getting closer to where he is, this is not the time to contemplate, kill if it's needed. He stood up, points the gun to the head of the other man. He opens his flashlight again flashing it directly to the man in front of him. The smaller man's hands are raised as if surrendering already. 

"That kinda hurts my eyes", the smaller says as he half closes his eyes. He has a nice voice, has pale skin, he wears glasses, a black jacket, and black pants.

"Are you gonna pull that? That will produce a loud sound you know, I suggest you to use a knif-", the smaller man was immediately interrupted.

"Shut up! Who are you, what are you doing here?" The man just gave him a grin on his face.

"Pull that already, let me help you", the smaller man put his finger on the trigger too. Seungyoun is shaking, he never dared to kill a man but this guy in front of him is even helping him to shoot his own head. 

"In the count of three okay... 1.. ", the smaller one is definitely enjoying this. 

"You're crazy!", Youn was flustered, 

"2..."

"F*ck what are you doing, you know you'll die if I pull this!"

"3"

_"Bang!"_

A load sound echoes inside the room, but not a sound of a gun but the hysterical laughter of the other man. Seungyoun put his gun away. Holding both the wrist of the smaller who is currently laughing his lungs out.

"You know I'm not even scared even if the gun was pointed at me and yet you're so scared when you're the one who's holding it. That's so funny", the smaller says in between his laugh and Youn only watches him with a serious look on his face.

"Okay let me calm down", he continued as he relaxes. "I just want a copy of what's inside that chip too, we have the same job I guess and both of us don't wanna get caught you know so... let go of my hands then success to the both of us. How's that sound?"

"Terrible", the other man rolls his eyes after hearing Youn's answer.

"Tie me if you want and I let you do the process as long as I'll have a copy of that too", the other man insists.

**Rule #1. Don't leave any trace behind.**

  
Youn can actually go now and leave this man here but he can't trust anyone. He might have planned something and he will not let that to happen.

He frees the smaller man's hand, and watch him finish what he needed to do. As Youn observes the man, there aren't any suspicious things that he did.

"If you're checking me out, I'm sorry I'm not interested", the brunette playfully says breaking the silence between them.

"Don't worry I'm not interested too, are you done?", Youn will not entertain this kind of conversation.

"Close enough"

Finally, the process is done. The chip was placed back inside the vault. Youn is about to jump outside the window as it is the easiest exit but the man suddenly stops him.

"You're asking who am I earlier, right? I can't tell you a piece of confidential information but I can at least give you my nickname in this business... 

_... I am Red."_

__

__


	2. Break the Rule

"As expected from you Agent X$Y, every bucks is worth your work. My boss wanted to drop his gratitude to you."

Seungyoun is walking on the dark stinky tunnel again but who would mind this if there's a 100,000 bucks worth of money in your bag right now. Evan - his hungry dog, is looking at him with pleading eyes, it was already late and both of them haven't had their dinner yet. He is too tired to cook so he just called for a delivery. He already put Evan's food on his plate but the dog is waiting for him, he didn't actually teach Evan to wait for him every time they eat but maybe this dog wanted him to feel that he is not alone. The delivery took 20 minutes to arrive and the two are now eating on the cushion in front of the television. It is quite an interesting view since they look alike. His parents bought a Shiba dog because they said he looks like one especially when he smiles. 

Regarding his parents' death, no one actually knows how they died but there's a rumor that roamed between his relatives, they died not because of sickness... they were murdered. But this rumor immediately died down since Seungyoun doesn't seem to hold any grudge to someone. 

_Or he does?_

Seungyoun was already in college when this happened, as his relatives argue who would take him, Youn ends the argument saying he wanted to live on his own rather than living with these 'relatives' who would surely just take advantage of him. He's an only child and his parents are not the richest of the rich but they are rich, both doctors to be specific. He is taking a medical course when all of this mess happened but he didn't continue his studies, rather he trained himself to fight and learn various things such as unlocking locks and hacking which are quite an easy task for him. He is actually known as the _gifted one_ in his school days which explains his success in this field. 

As the dog on his lap enjoys his time sleeping, Seungyoun's mind is the total opposite, there's a word... no... a name that won't leave his mind.   
  
_Red._  


He surely met a lot of people who do the same thing as him but this one feels different for him. He knows that guy is hiding something, amidst the laughter those eyes feel like he's watching him. But who knows maybe this is just the first time that he met a crazy guy like that and they won't probably meet again which puts Youn in ease. 

_But why is he restless in the first place?_

*** 

"How was it?", a man in a white suit and thick glasses asks as he places his elbows on his table examining the man in front of him who creepily smiles on his own. 

"Nothing much to note but he kinda has a face you know", Red notes which made the man in front of him more annoyed than he ever did. 

"Red, I'm serious! Stop jokin---"

"Fine! He seems like he doesn't kill people. I actually initiate to pull the trigger he pointed at me but he got more scared than I was and it's cute you know kinda reminded me of someone."

Red is having his own time on his thoughts therefore he didn't notice the sudden change of expression of the man he's talking to.

"Someone"...that alone made the man in the white suit to feel unease. _He didn't know it right? He must not know about it._

"Why so serious now? It's creepy you know." Red blurted out as he observed that the other is drown by his own thoughts.

"You know what Red do your job properly!", the man's voice echoes inside the room but Red just brushes it off as if he heard this for a lot of times already. 

Seungwoo - the man in the white suit exits the office realizing that he totally let his guard down, he underestimated Red's ability to observe people, he will not let him knew about that until this mission is completed, well it should always be kept hidden from him. 

***

Youn woke up feeling a heavy object on top of his chest - it's his dog, this is how Evan wakes him up when one of his phone rings. Seungyoun grunts as the light blinds his vision, he's half-naked and the tattoos on his body are visible. 

"Proceed", Youn's morning voice is deeper than his actual one. 

"Did I disturbed you?", a man's voice. 

Youn got this habit of categorizing the voices from the calls that he receives. This one is new and from the way he talks, he is a professional, maybe a politician. 

"No, go ahead"

"A friend of mine recommended you and I want you to do something for me."

"Proceed with the details"

"Okay, you'll need to go to a building, look for this specific room with a vault on it... "

This description is quite familiar to Seungyoun. Is this somewhat related to his previous task? He wanted to ask but - _Rule #2. Do not question whatever his clients want him to do._ He is not in the position to ask anything. 

"Are you gonna ask me to look for a chip and copy its contents?"

"Oh well... yeah... but not copy, I want you to change the contents of that chip, so what's your price?"

"Changing the content of a governmental property takes a long process, I need to do lots of coding for them not to trace any changes so $150,000 excluding the things that I need."

"150,000 bucks, that's a good price, okay expect the equipment later this afternoon. I suggest you do this at night, just like what you said, this requires a lot of time."

"Noted", then the line ends.   


The equipment arrives in the afternoon just like the man says. Youn has a different strategy in entering the facility this time. Interrupting the electricity again will be risky, the authority will suspect that this is not just a coincidence. He plans to go to the narrow ventilation window in the stock room located on the 15th floor and enter from there. Before the night comes, he looked for a possible spot where he can observe the employees inside and there's a perfect spot - the top of the building just beside the place where he'll sneak into. 

No gun this time, just knife, rope, binocular, and his hacking device, along with his flashlight. 

**Time check: 21:58**

It was dark already, time to commence the mission. He looks over the binocular, waiting for the few lights to turn off signaling that everyone had already left the building. There he goes, supporting his body with a rope as he goes down the building. Reaching the small window of the stock room, he squeezes his self in, landing safely on the floor. He heard footsteps behind the door, probably a night guard on watch. Two more floors to reach the location of the vault and another floor to the internal system of the building. Youn got the chip easily as if he already mastered the place even if he only went into it once. Now time to move to the system. The door to it has a fingerprint verification, you need to be a registered employee to open it along with a passcode. Hard as it sounds, Youn hack into it for only a matter of minutes, he worked on many of this already, it's just a piece of cake to him. The cameras are blinking recording his every move but he'll get rid of the footages anyway. There are a bunch of big computers inside along with the monitor to the cameras in the building. He wasted no time and immediately took his equipment connecting some cables to the computer there. The computer flashes a bunch of letters and symbols in green on a black background on its screen and Youn start typing things and presses the Enter button. 

**Update in progress...**

The monitor says. Time to get rid of all the footages now, he opens the main computer that facilitates all of the cameras. As he searches for the footages that caught him, a familiar face was flash in the real-time monitor. He is also here. Someone that he should not meet for the second time.

_Red._

Youn snaps back when the big computer says in a robot voice, 'Update Completed'. He went back to the big computer fast and remove his things hurriedly. Now back to the footages, he immediately deleted all the footages that caught him and... those that caught Red. Seungyoun only thought that if Red was caught, there's a possibility that he will drag him down into his mess, therefore, getting rid of them is the best decision, for now, nothing more, nothing less. Now time to finish this task. He went back to the neighboring building to gather his things there. His task is done but Youn can't seem to have his peace of mind. 

**Time check: 22:47**

He has a lot to think of right now, his hungry dog who's waiting for him to come home, his client waiting for him to say that he finished the task successfully, and his $150,000 price for a job well done but he can only think of a specific someone right now... 

_Red..._

He looks over his binocular again, looking if he safely exits the building already but what did he expect from this careless man. It's only a matter of time for Red to cross path on the night guard with the guard dog, he'll be caught in no time. 

Youn put down his binocular, closes his hand into a fist, contemplating on what he should do. 

"F*ck, you want me to break my own rules again", he wastes no time and grabs his things going to the place where he saw Red as fast as possible not minding the blinking cameras that record his every move.

Red is crawling on the floor observing everything on his way, he is near the corner where the guard and the dog roam around. The dog reacted to something which grabs the attention of the guard. The guard prepares his gun and checks the other way of the hall. 

"Who's there?!", the guard shouts but was face with nothing there. 

A hand grab Red on his waist and covered his mouth going to a dark space in between the rooms. 

"Quiet", Youn murmurs. The two heard the echoing voice of the guard but Youn can only focus on the soft hair that subtly touches his nose, the tiny waist that he's holding, and soft lips that press against his palm. Red taps his hand that holds on his waist signaling Youn that the guard was already gone. Youn frees the other man and Red faces him. 

"I think we should go now", Red simply says.   
Youn guided Red to where he left his things. Youn still can't believe the fact that he helped this man in front of him. He never did this thing before, an act that could totally ruin his task.

"I owe you my gratitude", Red blurts out as he waits for him to pack his things. 

"Forget about it", Youn sits on the floor as soon as he finished packing his things. Exhausted from all the running, he grabs for a cigarette stick on his pocket and light it up to calm himself. Red is just watching him but he doesn't care. 

"You can go now, I'll stay here for a bit", he says after blowing the smoke out of his mouth. Red stood up from where he sat then sits eventually in front of him. Red is supporting his weight on his hand while closing the gap between their face, looking at Youn straight to his eyes down to his nose, down to his lips. Youn was left frozen as he watches Red examines him closely. Red grabs the cigarette on his mouth and puts it in his before breaking the eye contact. Red stood up and started coughing, well he never smoked before. He threw it on the floor and died it down using his shoes. Youn grins as he watches the other man. 

"Ack.. That's terrible... Why do people get addicted to this thing?", stomping his foot to the cigarette. "This could shorten your life", changing his attention to Youn, finally done killing the cigarette. 

"That's actually better", Youn stood up from his seat and grabs his bag. "I'll go now", the last thing that he said before turning his back to Red. 

***

"I can't understand, did he really wanna die young?"

Seungwoo is so done to the man in front him (well it's Red), he stood up and struck the table that produces a very loud sound.

"If you'll not provide me with anything better go out of my office now!", Seungwoo says echoing his voice inside the room. Is there even a time where he never raised his voice while talking to Red, probably none.

"Okay", Red stood up from the sofa on his way to the door now, taking Seungwoo's command seriously.

"Red do y---!", Seungwoo is shouting again but got interrupted by the brunette.

"I know what I'm doing, you don't need to remind every time. It's about to end soon."

"Just as how it should be!", disappointment is apparent in Seungwoo's voice.

"As long as you don't hide anything from me, this will end smoothly", Red utters giving a serious expression to the other before exiting the room.

With this statement from the other, Seungwoo was left fazed with thoughts, his knees are getting weak making him sit from the chair where he sat earlier. Red doesn't know anything but the look that he gave bothers Seungwoo the most. _Is it really obvious that they're hiding something from him?_

***

Youn drowns himself with beer not because of successfully completing another task, but because he can't seem to understand his self these days. Finishing his fifth bottle, his face is red now but still not enough for him, reaching for another one inside his house while stumbling on the sofa waking the poor dog who peacefully sleeps on it before successfully getting one. Drained and exhausted, he looks up to the night sky, letting himself drown by the stars, out of a habit he grabs his pocket reaching for a cigarette. He is about to light it up using his lighter but he's reminded of someone. Someone that he should not even care about. 

"F*ck it", he threw it inside the trash bin beside him. Tugging his hair continuously. 

_What's with those eyes that kept observing me?_

_What's with that faint concern on his voice while reminding me that cigarettes will do nothing good._

_And what's with that, "Money is great but take care of yourself at least", before parting ways with me on top of the building._

So many what's, so many why's, so many questions but all of them were caused by a single man. 

_What do you want from me Red?_

__

_Just to lighten up the mood._

_Special Pic: Youn x Evan_


	3. Success and Sorrows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it takes too long for me to update. I added a few details on the previous chapters to better understand the whole situation. Enjoy reading!

"Good morning! I am Kim Wooseok, a new companion of the NIS _(National Intelligence Service)_. I'm looking forward to working with all of you who fight for the peace of the country", Seok says too enthusiastically giving smiles to his seniors' faces as if reminiscing their first memory in the NIS building. Full of dreams, full of passion, full of hope in saving their beloved country from all the bad men. A feeling that somewhat foreign to them now that they've been working here for years already. A bittersweet memory, thinking that the world is all happiness and beauty, far from the reality that faces them everyday. It will not always be the same indeed. This work is not for the weak physically and mentally. 

A man with a wide smile on his face welcomes them in the office.

"I'm Seungwoo, I'll be the one who'll train you to your job and I'm hoping that you will not give me a hard time", the man says offering his hand for a handshake.

Wooseok was amaze as he watches the other man talk with such confidence and authority. Going back to reality, Seok realizes that the other is already in front of him offering his hand, being nervous as he was, he reach the other man's hand but before even making a contact, he retreats his hand and wipe his palm with his pants first worrying that his palms are wet due to his excitement and anxiety. The other just gave him a faint chuckle as he watches the brunette getting all worked up. 

Newbie's like Wooseok are first trained inside, things like hacking, monitoring, and overall information gathering which is a critical work in a mission. This information will then be sent to the deployed team in the place as they commence the mission. Everything happens in fast pace, every second counts since every second that will be wasted, lives might be put in danger.

Facing with big monitors, 10 of the newbies which includes Wooseok were ask to take a seat in front of one of the computers. Each of the monitor has different scenarios, this is their training ground as if they're on a game first but the graphics is too real to even be considered as a game field. 

As Wooseok puts the headphones on, screams of agony, gun fires, cries of fear, and screeching sounds surrounds his ears. The excitement that he had a while ago is replaced with heavy feeling of uneasiness. Everything that he says in the mircophone will change everything. The big doe eyes filled with passion are now shaking, he can't think straight, and can't even move his fingers. 

_What is this?_ _Is this really the world we're living in?_

"Relax", Seungwoo puts his hands on his shoulders noticing the restlessness in Wooseok's expression. 

Wooseok was taken a back with the sudden contact, making him flinch from his seat. He removed his headphones and faces Seungwoo. He inhaled deeply as if he is drowning in the sea of his own fears. 

"I.. I can't do this", Wooseok knows that this is just the first stage but what can he do if his mind is in total chaos too. If this is a real situation, everything that he will say to the team may or may not save the captured civilians. 

"Then why are you here in the first place? You can't even handle this simple situation", Seungwoo's voice gives shivers to his spine.

_"Simple" situation... this is simple huh._

"You have a hour to finish the mission, in a real situation, one hour is too long. Clear the mission as fast as possible. Failing this stage means you are not qualified to go to the second stage. Therefore, it is a goodbye if you failed to do so", Seungwoo is the only senior left inside, monitoring them individually. The Seungwoo that greeted them with a smile earlier is nowhere to be found. The Seungwoo that is in front of them now is a professional who strictly supervised them. 

The situation that Wooseok is face with is a terror attack happening inside a hospital. The man with the bomb controller shields his body using the woman holding her baby. The other attackers are scattered on different floors preventing the team to move further. The sniper of the team is on top of the neighboring building, having the full view of the situation. "Quarters, tell me what to do!", the sniper says in the radio. Wooseok can command him to shoot the attackers just below the floor where the civilian is being captived, by doing so the other team can move to the next floor. 

"Team C, how many attackers are there?", Wooseok ask in the radio. 

"There are four here" 

"How many are you there?"

"Two, the others are already injured."

At this point, this is not the best option. 

Clear the mission as fast as possible. Then focus on the main problem - the man with the bomb controller. The man's head is hidden behind the civilian's head, the man's hand with the bomb controller is placed in front of the baby, too risky to directly shoot it. Therefore, there's only one thing left to do - destroy his shield. This work is not for the weak physically and emotionally. To save lives, someone needs to be hurt - not all the time but most of the time. 

_"Why are you here in the first place?!",_ Seungwoo is right, he is here to save people not empathize with them. Everything will be alright.

"Shoot the woman", Wooseok commands the sniper. 

"What?! We're here to save them!", the other line says. 

"I know! that's why shoot her. Aim for her shoulder. As she reacted with the pain, quickly shoot the man's head or his hand with the controller."

The sniper do what he commanded, but there's a problem. The man didn't let go of the woman making it hard to aim for his head therefore he aims for his hand. It was a success, the controller is now on the floor, the man hand's is bleeding allowing the woman to run. The man reaches for his gun targeting the woman but before he even did, the bullet reaches his head flopping down on the floor staining the white floor with red blood. 

"Team C, shoot now!", Wooseok commanded. More gun fires was heard after a few minutes. One of the team reaches the woman filled with blood because of the bullet that struck her shoulders. The baby continuously cries in her mother's embrace. 

"Team C, fifth floor clear, the woman is with me"

"Team D, fourth floor clear. "

"Team B, third floor clear."

"Team E, second floor clear, there are wounded civilians, ready the medical team."

"Team A, first floor the civilians are safe."

  
"Congratulations, the mission is completed."  
The screen flashes in front. Wooseok immediately puts down the headphones, he doesn't have any energy left on his body even if he only did was to sit and talk. He put his hands on his face too aggressively, tears are forming in his eyes. This is not the true mission yet but everything feels too real. The pressure, the place, the people, and their emotions are too raw. 

_You need to hurt someone to save lives huh._

"Congratulations for making it here." Out of the ten of them who enters the room, there's only five of them who made it. 

***

"NO! DON'T DO IT!"... "I SAID DON'T DO IT"... "WHY WON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME!"... "STOP!!!!!"

Cold sweat is streaming down on Red's face, his body is numb, heavy breathing surrounds the silence in his room. Headache struck his head. Since _that_ day, three years ago, this nightmare always hunts him down. Reaching for his medicines to calm him down, this dream... no... this is something that happened in the past... the past that he wanted to forget but it's too vivid in his memories. As if his dreams wanted him to feel the pain and guilt again and again until it ends his sanity. 

It's 23:12 in the evening, Wooseok is never an outgoer or a party person but he can only end this suffering if he let himself drown to alcohol. His colleagues say that after _that_ mission, he became stronger and unbeatable making him one of the best NIS agent. It may be true but it is mostly far from reality. He is never strong and he is never unbeatable. He suffers alone since _that_ day, they say the mission is a success but he knows one thing for sure, he is the loser to it. 

The blasting music of the bar is an irritating sound to Wooseok's ears but that's not his concern now. People approach him to his seat asking him favors and such but the only sound that he can hear is the loud cry that his heart is feeling. He is totally wasted now, he stops drinking as he feels that he is starting to have an unbearable pain in his head and stomach from too much alcohol. He exits the bar stumbling in every step that he makes. He can't remember anything afterwards. 

***

He wakes up in a soft bed still wearing his clothes last night. As he change in a sitting position, he felt a loud thud in his head, he still can taste the alcohol on his mouth. It was terrible but he never regret anything that he did last night. He observes the room he is currently in, the room is simple, it is painted in white with not much things inside, totally opposite to his messy room. He notice the dog in the door who is just watching him while wiggling his short tail. 

He looks like _someone_ , Wooseok thought. 

As he step out of the bed, the dog run outside the room and went somewhere then he heard it bark continuously. As he is about to exit the room, he heard a man's voice. 

"Evan, stop let me sleep", but the dog doesn't gasp his master's command and continuously gets his master's attention. 

Wooseok knows that voice, a voice that adds to his worries every night. He is the target to his current mission, someone that he should not care about but as they meet, his perspective of him continuously change to the point that he question this mission of capturing him. 

Seeing the other's back and messy morning hair as he pets his dog brings warmth and calmness to Wooseok's heart. Wooseok always loathe his targets they're bad guys after all, but him... it is the total opposite. The man stood up from the sofa wearing his casual clothes. He's taken a back when he saw Red but he quickly collect his composure. 

"Are you fine now?", Youn says too softly making his worry apparent in his voice. 

Wooseok feels so casual around him, questioning his self on why does he feel so comfortable around him when he should not. 

"How did I get here?"

"I see, you forget everything. Don't worry nothing happened that will burden you."

"Tell me everything."

Youn didn't respond to his question and went straight to the kitchen not even looking to him. 

"Eat first, I'll cook for you."

There's no reason for Red to accept his offer but what can he do if his body doesn't want to leave this place that gives him warmth and peace of mind. _Just for a while, let me stay with you._

"I have spare clothes if you want to take a bath, and your phone... I think you should check it."

Wooseok went straight to the bathroom, checking his phone will only give him a pain. Who would contact him unless it's about work, a work that he wanted to run away. 

  
The clothes are too big for him but he doesn't care, at least he has clothes to wear on other than the stinky one that he has. He went to the table where the food is placed along with some medicine beside it while Youn calls Evan to eat his food too. They eat silently, none of them wanted to start a conversation but it is a silence that both of them needed. Wooseok doesn't like the fact that he feel at home right now. This is not right. 

"I saw you on the street", Seungyoun started. 'Totally wasted if you asks and you... you're crying", Seungyoun says hesitating. 

"I asks you where you live but you won't tell me, I help you to stand up but as you see me, you continuously says 'I'm sorry'. It was already late and I can't just leave you there while crying you're eyes out and that's the reason why I brought you here. Nothing happened after that."

Red doesn't find his explanation as a made-up story. He doesn't have a reason to lie to him. Why is it even easy for him to trust the man in front of him in this situation. "Thank you but helping me is totally unnecessary. You shouldn't bring strangers to your house", Red says giving Youn a clue to his mission. _You should not trust me._

"I know but you're not a stranger to me", Youn's response gave Wooseok a feeling of guilt. He had always hated that feeling.

"You should go now before your senior finds out, you still need to complete your mission", Youn added noticing the silence of the other. 

Wooseok eyes widen, he should know that this man that he is against with is almost the same as his level or even better than him. 

"What are you talking about?", Red should not fall to these traps, maybe Youn is just checking his intuition about their coincident meetings. 

"Ahh you have no mission today?", Youn stop stirring his coffee and look straight on Red. "I thought you have one", Youn added. 

Wooseok got scared for a bit. After they ate, Wooseok went to the room again to get his dirty clothes but a picture made his world stop turning. He does have the suspicion that he already saw Youn in the past and he has this feeling that he might probably be the son of _that_ family. As he examines Youn the last time that they met, the similarities between him and the two doctors are too striking. Then here he is, all of his worries were confirmed. Wooseok is in utter shock, he doesn't move a bit. How can he process this information while thinking that Seungwoo kept this hidden from him, he felt betrayed by someone he trusts the most. Tears starts to fall on his eyes again but this time, they are tears of anger. 

"I'm going", Red says as he hurriedly grab his phone and exits the room but before he reach the door, Evan has a small bag on his mouth with medicines on it, he look for Youn for the last time but he already went somewhere. 

"Thank you", Wooseok says as he pats the dog's head. 

As he opens his phone, various messages flash in front of him. He needed a lot of explanation from the sender of this messages... not explanations but acceptable excuses from Seungwoo. 


	4. Lingering Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it took me long enough. But finally, here it is. There are three timelines ahead:  
> (1) The night when Youn brought Red on his house  
> (2) The past  
> (3) The current time  
> Enjoy :)))  
> Warning: Graphic violence and...angst?

Seungyoun is on his way to buy a meal when he saw Red walking in a lousy manner. He didn’t plan to meddle, he just wanted to make sure that nothing bad will happen, it’s his reason on why he is now walking behind Red observing him. Not until a group of men approaches Red. ' _He can fight, don’t meddle... But... he’s drunk.'_ Seungyoun is just thinking rationally when he grabbed Red’s wrist and puts it behind his neck to support him. _I am just being rational._ Youn kept repeating to himself.

"Red stay still", Youn is struggling in supporting Wooseok thus he doesn't have a choice but to carry him, putting him on his back. Youn stops as he felt Red wrapped his arms around his neck, tightening his grip to Seungyoun as he started crying again. "I'm sorry", the only thing that he can utter repeatedly between his sobs. Youn somewhat knows. He kind of knew where Red is working for. After their second meeting, he knows something is up, it was not just a coincidence. And this one, he doesn't know if it's part of Red's plan too but _he does not mind_. Seungyoun does not even think of digging deeper who Red is. Even though he can. Even though it is easy for him to do so. Why? He just doesn’t want to.

Seeing Red in this state is the total opposite of what he showed him in their previous encounters. The Red that he is carrying on his back is someone that is so fragile and delicate. He does not trust anyone even this man who holds on him tightly. Red was already asleep when they reach Seungyoun’s place. He put him on his bed carefully as to not wake the other. Red looks so restless even in his sleep, which Youn _somewhat_ wanted to erase. Seungyoun was reminded of _that_ day, a day to celebrate his birthday but it became a day of sorrow. He had no one to share his sufferings. Dying is the only thing that he can think of that time but his parents’ words are instilled into him stronger than anything else. Thus, he just drowns his body to alcohol and started smoking to damage his body. His thoughts were interrupted as a tear fell down on Red’s cheeks as if empathizing with him as those thoughts occupy his mind. He wipes it down and caresses Red’s face.

Maybe it's the silence that surrounds them,

Maybe it's the sad memories that he remembers,

Maybe it's the urge to be held by someone for a long time.

Youn stood on his seat, closes his eyes and places his lips to the other as tears left his eyes. He stayed beside him holding his hand until the sun rises.

* * *

_Team Alpha_ \- a team lead by Seungwoo. Red is a part of it, a strategist to be specific.

 **August 5, 2017.** It was supposed to be a normal day for everyone not until a call breaks the peace inside the NIS building. _“It’s been a while…”_ , the other line started. Seungwoo puts away the phone and signals Red to trace it down. _“…no more long talks”_ , the phone call continued. “ _Just wanted to tell you that we have a gift inside the Hanyang University Hospital. Let’s meet there”_ , then the line immediately cut off.

“Where is he?”, Seungwoo asks.

“Just as what he said…the call came from Hanyang”, Red says worriedly.

The team immediately deploys to the said place. Everyone is on stance waiting for any signal. There was silence, a silence that wants to be broken. The NIS already called the university to immediately get out and not to panic. Everything is under control but a gunshot break the silence. People started to shout and run, pushing each other, not even minding those who fell on the floor. This is the chaos the attackers wanted. The man who shot the gun is behind the pack of students, it’s too risky too even shoot. The attacker is already on tape and he knows it, smiling evilly as if mocking the people who watch behind the monitor. Mouthing “shoot me” which makes Seungwoo fills with anger.

"Spinx, can you find an open space to shoot him directly?", Seungwoo says on the radio.

"Every angle is blocked by the civilians captain, it's too dangerou-- ahh!", the other line was suddenly cut off.

"Spinx? Spinx! F*ck", Seungwoo shouts angrily.

"Captain... Spinx... was shot", Red says breathing heavily, pointing to the monitor.

 _"Hello?..."_ , a voice came from Spinx radio. _"I lend your comrade's radio for a while, the bullet is just on his shoulder don't worry"_ , accompanied by a mocking laugh.

Seungwoo gritted his teeth from anger.

"Phoenix, can you hear me?"

"Yes, captain!"

"Time to start the mission", Seungwoo commands.

"Wait Captain!... ", Red interrupts, "... if we fire now, they'll surely fire back at those people!"

"Then, you wanted them to start firing before initiating a move?", Seungwoo answers blankly.

"That's not what I mea---"

"YOU WANTED THEM TO HURT THOSE PEOPLE FIRST HUH WOOSEOK!"

Red was left dumbfounded. He doesn't know what to do now. Does sacrificing some of those people really the best option now? Can they not save all of them? He felt so useless sitting here in front of a monitor just watching everything. The screams, the chaos, they all call for help. Red clunches his fists. He drags the headphone on the desk. "I'm going", Red sturdy says not waiting for Seungwoo's approval. He loads his gun and wore his protective gear. He ran as fast as he could to the scene then gunshots started to fire. _Stop, please stop firing._

A lot of people safely escape the scene but as Wooseok stood on the building, a lot of people was also caught between the chaos. Bodies are scattered everywhere and the floor is a canvas painted in red. Throbbing pain struck his head making him lose his senses. As he gets back on his feet, the sound of the gunfires filled his ears again along with the screams of agony, he stood up straight and his gaze...his gaze is different now and his eyes are filled with void. He felt a gun at the back of his head. "Already three down, you'll be the fourth o---", but before the man can even finish what he's saying, his gun is already on Red's hands, pointing on his head - the tables have turned. "You talk too much", Red says before firing the gun then blood splatters on Red's face. The man's body immediately flops down and blood spills on the white floor. It is unnecessary but Wooseok still aimed for the man's heart repeatedly, destroying it completely. _'You don't deserve a heart when the ground eats your body.'_

"Ahhhh... f*ck stop it!", the man screamed his lungs out. Red pushes down the gun on the man's naked flesh on his shoulder, "I told you to stop but what did you do?", Red says blankly. The agonizing pain is apparent as the screeching scream of the man fills the building, blood flows out continuously. "Stop screaming! Where are the others?", anger is apparent in Red's voice. "I won't tell you", the man answered spitting his saliva filled with blood on Red's face. Wooseok grins, he opens the man's mouth and put the gun in it. "Your tongue is unnecessary then", the last statement that the man heard alive. He's the 10th person that Wooseok had killed that day.

Wooseok continuous to roam around the university hospital, Seungwoo said on the radio that there are two more civilians on the floor he's in. 

"Please spare my wife, I'll do everything I'm begging you", Wooseok heard a man's voice, incoherently saying everything. A woman's voice cried out loud hearing those words from her husband. "No please, no", the woman screams. Wooseok can't take it anymore, he ran as much as fast as he can to reach the source of the voices. He's exhausted, but he's too numb to feel anything, he feels nothing but anger. He stayed low as he reached the room, panting.

"Wooseok?!", Seungwoo's voice over his earpiece. "Wooseok can you hear me? The man who holds the doctor has the bomb. Are you there already?"

"I'm here. Continue." Wooseok answers breathing heavily.

"There are two doctors inside the room, get them out and Phoenix will take care of the attacker. He's already on watch.", Seungwoo continued.

"Copy."

Wooseok enters the room, "Hands up!", he commanded but the attacker just grins then grabs the woman between his arm pointing the gun in her head. Her husband runs immediately to free his wife. "Sir, please stay down", Wooseok pleads, stopping the man before getting close. "Please sir leave it to us, go out for now", Wooseok says assuring the other man. Tears fell down the doctor's eyes. "But...my wife..." Wooseok pats his shoulder, " _trust us sir_ , so please save your self now". The man looked at his wife, and the woman mouthed 'go now'. The man escapes the room and the three of them are the only ones left inside.

"I'll ask you nicely, put her down", Wooseok says. Pointing the gun to the attacker. The man just spits on the floor, it seems that he's already wounded. 

"Everything is on our control now, if you don't wanna have the same fate as your companions, surrender now", Wooseok calmly says. The man just grins tightening his grip to the woman's neck. 

"Yes, your team already wins...", the man laughs hysterically."...But I will not let _you_ win this."

There was silence, a silence that can lose one's sanity. 

The man frees the woman on his grip and as she ran to Wooseok,

Wooseok... regrets everything. Why it has to be now.

He fired his gun then a gunshot was heard. But... it was not his.

the man fired his gun and the woman flops down.

Why it has to be now... His gun has no bullets left.

His world stops, the throbbing pain in his head struck him again. He can feel the exhaustion now. He lands on his knees reaching for the woman. Seungwoo is saying something on the radio but he can't hear anything other than the broken breath of the dying woman in front of him. He put the woman's head on his lap. Blood on his hand. 

"RED!!!", Phoenix calls him on the radio. The attacker reached for the bomb but Phoenix immediately shot his head.

The problem is the bomb has a clock. Phoenix is a sniper, their other teammates are already far from them. Only Wooseok can stop the bomb.

"RED!!! PLEASE RED STOP THE BOMB!!!"

"I'm... s... sorry", Wooseok utters looking at the woman. Blood continues to go out on her mouth.

"Seu... Seung... youn...", the last words of the woman on Wooseok's hand before completely losing her breath.

"RED!"

"RED!"

Wooseok stood on his feet then dissembled the bomb. 

"Red, go out immediately!", Seungwoo says on the radio.

But Wooseok is just there, frozen. He let out a chuckle. Tears stream down on his cheeks. He looks up and laughs hysterically.

"WOOSEOK!", Seungwoo calls for him again. He threw his earpiece, he reaches the collar of the dead attacker and punches him continuously. Wooseok's fists are wounded now, but he doesn't stop. 

"Wooseok, that's enough!", again they call for him.

Wooseok does not care, he grabs the gun on the dead's hand. The gun who killed the woman.

Wooseok aimed for the forehead first. Then on the heart. Putting holes on the man's body everywhere as the bullets run out. 

Black, one of his teammates, finally reached him. 

"Red, that's enough", Black says as he stops Wooseok from what he's doing.

"It will never be enough", then blackness fills Wooseok's vision.

* * *

  
Wooseok doesn't mind the eyes that follow him as he went inside the NIS building. His attire is not appropriate, he knows that but he doesn't care a bit of it. He opened the door to Seungwoo's office quite aggressively, making the other flinch form the sudden visit.  
  
"I'll give you time to explain yourself. Don't waste my time", Red doesn't care even if Seungwoo is a senior to him. His trust was already destroyed. This is not about work anymore, this is a betrayal of a friend.  
  
Seungwoo knows that making excuses at this point will not change everything. Red already knows.  
  
"Now you can't even say a single word when you have a lot to say while commanding me to do this and that while working with this mission!", Wooseok aggressively says.  
  
"It's a direct command from the higher-ups, you are the only one who can do this... I refuse their decision but I'm powerless Red."  
  
"I can complete this mission with no problem Swoo, the only thing that you needed to do is to tell me that he is the man that I'm looking for, for the past three years but you chose not to", tears already fills Wooseok's vision.  
  
"When will to stop blaming yourself for what happened three years ago Red?! This is the reason why we didn't tell you, you're being prisoned by the past. How can you clear this mission if you have that kind of mindset!"  
  
"Then I'm sorry for being weak... I will not do this, find another agent to do this", Wooseok turns his back and quickly reach for the door but Seungwoo grabs his arm stopping him.  
  
  
"Let me go"  
  
  
"I SAID LET ME G--!"  
  
  
"WOOSEOK!", their voices echo inside the office.  
  
"How many years it has been since you called me by that name?", Wooseok smiles bitterly. "... Just let me go...please...", Red says, he has no energy left on his body, he has no will to continue any of this, he needed a break from all of this.  
  
"This is the best thing that you can do for him, you don't want to leave him by the hand of the army do you? If you let this mission go, he will have the same fate as his parents. Capture him and let him change to our side, that's the only way that we can save him. Please do it for him and for yourself Seok", Seungwoo loosens his grip letting Wooseok exits the room. 

Wooseok has no tears left on his body. The effect of alcohol last night is still lingering on his system. He reached for the pack of medicine that Youn gave him, he stares at it for quite too long and he notices the note inside.

***

  
_Cho Seungyoun, that's my name. It's unfair that you already know my name and my place but I still don't know yours, but **I trust you**. I don't know who you are apologizing for but I think they already forgave you for what you did. I mean I don't know if you really did something bad but seeing you sleep restlessly, I can tell that you suffered for a long time now because of it. I didn't tell a specific detail about what happened last night but it won't hurt you in any way so I hope you don't mind that. All I can say is live the fullest, forget everything and move forward Red._

***  
  


_Trust_ \- Wooseok hates that word. When he thought that there were no tears left on his body, they started streaming down on his face again, biting his lower lip suppressing the sound of his cry, he wanted to cry out loud enough and get this out from his chest. What is he going to do now? Whose trust is he going to break this time? Wooseok crumples the paper on his hand.

_Out of all people, why it has to be you Cho Seungyoun?_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reaching this part. I hope you enjoy reading it. This is my depiction of pain for X1's situation. Unit or no unit, we fought hard for them and I know they knew that. Still hoping that everything will be better soon for us One its. Again, thank you.


End file.
